The Kiss on Venus
by gem-care-ma
Summary: Chuck gets blue poisoning and looses both of his arms. Herc and him deal with the aftermath, and how it changes their relationship.
1. Chapter 1

I haven't seen enough of this pairing, so I decided to make my own. Also, this work is inspired by Venus ni Seppun manga by Sadahiro Mika that you can find on . Check it out! While I did base a lot of the story off of it, I think Herc and Chuck's personalities change the story a lot.

R&amp;R

* * *

Chapter 1

Her was standing in the control room, listening to his son and boss argue about what to do with the situation. Herc was full of nervous energy, his son was at the bottom of the ocean and had a 1% chance of living. The only thing he could hope for was that Chuck would get into an escape pod in time to still make it out alive.

Meanwhile, in the Striker Eureka, Chuck was being shoved into an escape pod. He had tried to argue and stay, but it was no use. The door to the pod closed and locked. Before long, the pod ejected. He was safe, except, one of the kaiju, which they had killed earlier was in Chuck's way as he surfaced. His pod shot though the enormous body, traveling towards the surface, but Chuck, dazed by the impact knew something was wrong. He looked quickly around him to find a neon blue eating through the pod walls. He couldn't get out or he would drown, but if he stayed in the pod, he would get blue poisoning. Chuck hadn't made a decision before he passed out.

Herc heard the confirmation of the escape pod his son was in being ejected. He let go the breath he had been holding. Before long he boarded one of the helicopters that were going to find all the pods from the Jaegers. On their way there, Herc heard some commotion on the intercoms. One of the pods had been poisoned by the kaiju. Herc sighed. Nothing could ever be easy. He only hoped that it wasn't his baby boy.

The teams had to wait to get special equipment to grab the poisoned escape pod. Her held his breath as he saw Mako and Raleigh reunited. He then realized this meant that his son was the one in the pod. Things didn't look too good for his son. Not much could be done for a person poisoned by a kaiju.

Herc watched from afar, knowing it would be bad to get poisoned himself, but he never let his son out of his sight. The medical team wheeled Chuck into a special room, once they were back at the base. Her sat outside, watching everything through a window. One of the doctors came out of the door to Herc's right.

"Sir," he said to get Herc's attention. Her looked over at the doctor. "The poisoning is extensive in both the left and right forearms. There is really only one way to save your son's life: by cutting off his arms."

Herc sighed. He knew something like this had to happen to keep his son alive, but being faced with the reality of it was more stressful than he had thought it would have been. "Well," he responded, "why are you talking to me and not starting the procedure?"

The doctor cringed at Herc's sharp tone. "We thought you should know before it happens." Herc looked at the doctor, then sat back down to watch his son thought the window.

The doctor went back, and they started.

Her knew that Chuck's life would never be the same. Once blue poisoning was in Chuck's system, Chuck's cells would have absorbed the chemical, changing his DNA. Although the harmful and life threatening poison would be taken care of with the loss of his arms, the new DNA Chuck had would mess with technology, so any advanced prosthetics that might have worked well would be entirely useless

Herc watched the procedure, he didn't want his son alone through all of this, even if Chuck didn't know he was there. Once Chuck stabilized, Herc would move into the room to sit with him until Chuck could be dismissed from medical.

The process took a lot longer tan it should have, mostly because technology couldn't be used during the surgery. Both arms were cut off about around Chuck's mid-chest, leaving him less than 1/3 of his upper arm and shoulder.

When the doctors were done, they wrapped the arms and let Herc in. Herc pulled the uncomfortable chair from the corner to the bedside and looked at Chuck's face for the first time since the surgery had started. Herc saw Chuck's young features and wished Chuck had had a normal life, wished Chuck wouldn't have to deal with living without his arms.

Then Herc realized, Chuck's personality would make it exceptionally difficult to deal with this major change. Her fell asleep next to the bed thinking about all the accommodations that would have to be made for Chuck and how much Chuck would hat the ALL.


	2. Chapter 2

Chuck woke up to a dull ache in both his arms. He groaned as he became more aware, coming up from the blackness he was in earlier. Chuck's eyes slid open, resting on the white wall in front of him. The familiarity of the room shocked him further awake. If Chuck woke up in the med rooms, that meant something really bad must have happened. He tried to sit up, only to find that his arms weren't working the way they should. He looked over to his left to find the bed sheet. There was no sign of his hand.

Chuck's heart began to pump faster. This couldn't be what he thought it was. He quickly looked to his right to find the same case.

Herc was reading through some paperwork when he heard the machines in the room begin to go haywire. He looked up from his work to find Chuck wide eyed and struggling to sit up. A few moments later, several nurses rushed into the room. They tried to calm Chuck down, but they only made him more agitated. Several more nurses had to come in to hold him still as Chuck began kicking his legs in every direction. The nurse who had come in first quickly sedated him, knocking him out within moments.

All the commotion quieted, and most of the nurses left, while a few made sure all the machines were still fine.

Herc sighed, head in his hands. This was going to be a long process.

* * *

Herc watched Chuck's eyes open a few hours later. The sedative was just wearing off, and Chuck would still be relatively calm for a few hours. Chuck turned his head towards Her, smiling when he saw his father next to him. Herc reached for Chuck's shoulder, thinking about how sappy the whole situation was.

"How ya feelin', boy?" he asked with less bite than he normally did. Chuck looked confused for a moment, but then his eyes widened. He turned his head from Herc's face to look down at his body. His face paled when he realized for the second time the state of his body. Herc took his hands off of Chuck's shoulder to put it under his chin and pull his gaze to his again.

When their eyes me, Herc saw rare tears beginning to form in Chuck's eyes. The sedative must have let down Chuck's defenses quite a bit for Herc to see him cry right now. For Herc, Chuck turned into his young son who was hurt and needed his daddy to comfort him.

Herc stood from his chair, helped move Chuck over in his bed and got in so he could hold his boy.

Chuck's face dropped onto Herc's chest as Herc wrapped his arms around his now sobbing boy. Herc carefully stroked Chuck's shoulders, planting kisses into his hair as he murmured reassurances he was positive the boy would not remember, or would be embarrassed to remember.

Slowly Chuck calmed down; Herc was sure it was the sedative playing with his emotions.

Chuck fell asleep to the sound of his dad's heart beat, steady and sure in his ear.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey, I'm going to be ending this soon. I'm just kind of done with it at this point, so i'm posting no matter if it is unedited, or unbeta'd. So don't hate me.

* * *

The day Chuck was let out of the med bay caused a lot of unnecessary problems for the nurses working that day. Herc was only glad that Chuck was behaving better than he had the whole week before. The only reason Chuck had even stayed so long was because the doctors wanted to be sure the blue poisoning hadn't affected his brain negatively

Herc though back on that long week he had spent with Chuck

* * *

Chuck tried to sit up in bed that morning, forgetting his lack of limbs. Chuck fell back against the bed with an "oompf," alerting Herc to his son. Herc moved closer to the bed to see if Chuck needed anything.

"What are you waiting for, old man?" Chuck said with more bite than he had intended. "Help me sit up." Herc grabbed the remote that controlled the bed to allow Chuck to sit up. Once Chuck was settled, he looked expectantly at his father. Herc grabbed the glass of water and brought it to Chuck's lips for him to drink.

Chuck had continued like this the whole week. He ordered everyone around, yelling at them when they didn't guess what he wanted correctly, but also never wanting to ask for anything. The nurses that came to take care of him quickly got fed up with his behavior, teaching his dad the easier jobs so they wouldn't have to come in as often. Chuck was still rude and disrespectful with his dad, but at least Herc knew how to deal with it after all these years. He figured Chuck was being especially bad because he couldn't leave the med room yet.

The day before the doctors cleared Chuck to leave, Chuck tried walking and standing around the room. He was a little off balance, so Herc never left his side, especially since Chuck couldn't catch himself if he fell. Chuck grumbled about having his father follow his every move, and only got more upset when he lost his balance and had been caught by Herc.

* * *

Herc walked behind Chuck's wheelchair, which was being pushed by a nurse (standard procedure for discharge from the infirmary, but that didn't stop Chuck from complaining. Loudly). Fairly soon, they stopped in front of the room Chuck and Herc shared. Herc had had the room prepped when he first found out about Chuck so everything was ready when they entered.

Although Chuck protested the continued bed rest, he was beginning to look pale and was panting, despite not having done much.

The nurse left the second she could, not wanting to spend any more time with Chuck that was absolutely necessary.

Herc let the breath he was holding go. Chuck looked up at him from his place on the bed. He began to open his mouth, but Herc put a hand up to quiet him.

"I'm going to be back in a few minutes, and when I come back I want to sleep." Without another word, Herc left to get some food for when they woke up. The cooks in the mess were more than happy to give him the food, so he came back quickly. He put the food down on their small table, turned off the lights and climbed into bed with Chuck.

Chuck didn't try to fall asleep without his dad in the room. He hadn't told Herc yet, but he had been waking up in the middle of every night from nightmares. It comforted him to wake up and see his dad next to his bed. When Herc came in, Chuck pretended to be asleep. Herc climbed in next to him. When Chuck was pretty sure Herc was asleep, he wiggled over as close as he could to Herc. His arms still hurt some, although the pain meds helped.

Just as Chuck was dropping off, Herc pulled Chuck onto his chest, chuckling silently. Chuck smiled briefly before getting more comfortable, content to be so close to his dad.

Herc found it quite funny that Chuck was trying to pretend to be asleep, so when Chuck snuggled up next to him, he decided to help his son out by pulling him to rest on his chest.

* * *

Herc woke up in the middle of the night to violent thrashing on top of him. His first instinct was to shove whoever it was off, but as he woke up, he remembered that Chuck was the person who was with him. This only made him wake up more quickly. During Chuck's stay at the med bay, there had been no sign of nightmares, but that didn't mean much right now.

Herc woke Chuck up as carefully as he could, trying to be careful of Chuck's arms. Chuck gasped awake, finding his dad hovering over him with a concerned look. He calmed down, knowing his dad was there.

"What do you want?" his voice bit into Herc. While Chuck was glad Herc was here, he didn't want him to deal with this. Here he was only causing more problems for Herc to deal with.

"Waking you up before you gave me a back eye," Herc responded; it didn't have any barbs to it, but he did need to know what happened. "You want to talk about it?" He asked, settling down beside Chuck.

"No!" Chuck replied tursly. Why the hell would he want to talk about it, that would only make the dreams more real.

"Okay," Herc said, not wanting to push. He figured at the latest they would find out when they drifted again. So Herc pulled Chuck into a hug again, and started to fall asleep.

Chuck just was glad his dad hadn't pushed. He was worried his dad wouldn't have wanted him back in their room, wouldn't want him back.

Blowing things out of proportion in his mind, coupled with his nightmare, Chuck began crying. He tried to be as silent as possible, not wanting his dad to think he was a baby who cried just because of a nightmare.

Herc, dozing a little, felt something wet against his chest. He lifted his head from his pillow to look down at where Chuck's face was resting against him, to find his son trying his best to keep form crying. He mentally sighed.

"Chuck?" he tried, not wanting another outburst from him. Chuck pretended he couldn't hear; maybe his dad would think he was asleep and not bother him.

Herc sighed. He reached over to turn on the light, and sit up against the head board and pillows, pulling Chuck up with him. Herc took his time arranging Chuck between his legs, his chest to Chuck's back.

Once they were settled, he asked, "What's wrong?"

Chuck shook his head, giving up the pretense of sleep.

Herc guessed he would have to coax the answer out of Chuck, he did always respond well to encouragement. So Herc began kissing Huck's jaw, nuzzling along it until he reached Chuck's mouth. They hadn't done anything since Chuck had gotten into Striker Eureka with all the surgery and the staff coming in and out of Chuck's room

Chuck was still tearing up a little when Herc reached his mouth. He opened it on instinct only to feel his emotions well up in him even more. He let out a faint whimper that was caught between him and his dad's lips.

Herc didn't want to take things too far too quickly, only having just had Chuck discharged hours earlier. He let their kiss linger a few minutes before pulling away. Chuck's cheeks were tear stained but he turned his head to look Herc in the eye. Herc smiled, not having gotten looked at straight in the eye these last few days.

"We can talk about all this later," Herc said, leaning forward so he and Chuck would touch foreheads. Chuck smiled and pecked Herc's lips. They settled in for the night.

Chuck went to sleep happy his father still seemed to want him. Herc went to sleep, content that Chuck seemed to be past his grumpy show he had put on in the infirmary.


	4. Chapter 4

Most of the first few weeks were difficult. The first few days were filled with lots of check ups and bandage replacements. Chuck's arms still needed quite a bit of time to heal entirely, but the blue poison was not stopping the healing process, which was what the doctors had been most concerned with.

A lot of the rest o their days and weeks were spent with recovery and therapy. Chuck had to learn how to live without his arms, but he didn't put much effort into it. Herc didn't know what to think because his boy had always been so independent, never wanting help. If Chuck didn't take these lessons seriously, then he would have to find a care-taker.

Chuck mostly too in his mind to realize Herc's concern, thought that he would always have his dad. If Herc wanted him to learn to live on his own, then that meant that Herc didn't want Chuck anymore. _Well_, Chuck thought realistically, _Who would want a crippled lover or son?_ It's not like Chuck would be much use anymore. He understood if Herc wanted to leave, life his life without concern for his crippled son.

* * *

Herc tried being patient. He was doing the majority of the care-taking for Chuck because the nurses were fed up with him, and his artificial limbs were still coming (it was hard finding someone to do such an old-fashioned custom order). Chuck didn't look like he was making much progress, and Herc wondered if he was internalizing the information, or ignoring it all together. Chuck never said anything about leaving the dome, so Herc didn't make any move to take them out of what was familiar. While risks of attack had been terminated, it still seem like the governments of the world were intent upon keeping the Jaegers up and running for the time being. And so, while the press had stopped vulching there was work to be done, paper shuffling. Herc never thought about finding a new co-pilot. The program would probably just keep him on for appearances' sake. And Herc was fine with this.

What Herc wasn't fine with was Chuck. Again, Herc had tried to be patient. He just couldn't take it anymore. So one day he left.

"Chuck," he said, popping his head through the door leading to their quarters, "I'm going out for the night. I'll be back late." No response. He knew Chuck wasn't asleep this early with all his pent up energy. So, he left.

* * *

Herc had a great time. He hadn't gone out alone since he piloted with his brother. He had a couple of great nights with 2 guys and a girl, who luckily didn't recognize him. By the 3rd morning out, though, he felt ready to go back home and deal with his whiny brat of a son.

The security guards didn't give him any strange looks when he entered, and neither did anyone else he passed on his way to the room, so he was entirely unprepared for what he saw in the room.

The first thing he noticed was the smell, horrid, much like the camps for people whose homes were destroyed by the Kaiju. The second was that Chuck wasn't in the bed, which was where he normally was at this time in the morning. He entered their cramped quarters, first looking for the source of the smell, only to find Chuck on the floor on the other side of the bed. His clothes were stained from where he wet himself. Chuck didn't respond to his father coming into the room or calling his name. _How did this happen_, Herc though. Then Herc realized. No one was there looking out for his boy, except him. Not even Chuck was looking out for himself.

So feeling entirely responsible for the state of his lover Herc braced himself and got Chuck onto the bed. Chuck stirred a little. Herc went into the bathroom to fill a glass with water, slowly letting Chuck sip from it. Herc cringed realizing there was no way Chuck could have gotten a drink or food or anything by himself. What had he been thinking?! He went to the bathroom a few more times to refill the cup of water, making sure that Chuck wasn't drinking too fast.

Once Herc was satisfied with Chuck's hydration, he got to work getting Chuck into the bathroom. Herc sat Chuck on the toilet seat, helping Chuck out of his shirt, pants, and boxers, taking the offending garments to the hamper, and putting the hamper outside. He filled the bath, undressing as it filled, always keeping an eye on Chuck because that's what he should have done the first time. Once the tub was filled, Herc got a slightly more awake Chuck onto his feet and into the tub, settling him between his own legs, back against his chest. Herc was surprised that Chuck hadn't started yelling at him yet, but that would probably come once Chuck got his strength back.

So Herc began cleaning Chuck, sponges running along Chuck's upper body, slowly caressing his waking body.

* * *

Chuck came to awareness around the third glass of water his dad was helping him drink. Not much came to mind, mostly being comforted by the presence of his dad. _Wait a second_. Chuck realized slowly_. _His dad was helping him move into the bathroom. _Why is he here? I though he left . . . for good_.

Herc left for a moment, fear clenched his heart. _What if he didn't come back?_ Before that line of thought went far, Herc was in the bathroom filling the tub and getting out of his own clothes. Chuck let himself bask in the presence he missed so much.

While letting Herc bathe him, Chuck tried not to think much about anything, his thoughts already proving to be destructive and inaccurate. But Chuck couldn't help but wonder why his dad came back when he had made it so clear that he didn't want to be there anymore.

"Penny for you thoughts," Herc murmured, chest rumbling behind Chuck's back.

"Just wondering why you came back_," _Chuck said before his mind could stop him, voice scratchy from lack of use. He and Herc never had had secrets since they first drifted. The sponge moving across his body hesitated before continuing, but Chuck felt the tension behind him, which didn't abate. Herc was silent, only their breaths filling the air around them.

"Kid . . ." Herc said after a few tense moments, stopping the sponge and setting it on the ledge next to him. He wrapped his arms around Chuck's torso, moving slowly so he didn't startle Chuck. "I was being an idiot, and I shouldn't have left in the first place." He dropped his head so his mouth rested on Chuck's shoulder. "I'll always come back," he murmured into the flesh below his lips. Chuck relaxed back against him.

They sat there for a few minutes, but the slowly chilling water urged them to get out. Herc helped Chuck stand up and step out of the tub. Chuck sat down on the towel covered toilet seat so Herc could towel him dry without risking Chuck falling. Carefully, they made their way back to their bed, and after changing the sheets and settling Chuck into the bed, Herc sprayed the room with disinfectant to mask the smell until they could properly clean the room.

Herc settled in next to Chuck, pulling Chuck into their customary sleeping arrangement: Chuck lying half on top of Herc with his head by Herc's heart. Chuck had missed the sound in his days without his dad.

* * *

Hey, just as a reminder, let me know what you want to see for the ending, cuz i think i'm ending this after this


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, Herc had to bribe Chuck to get out of bed and got tot he infirmary.

"I don't wanna," Chuck mumbled, settling further into the covers.

Herc sighed. He just wanted to make sure that everything was okay. "Please," was a rare for both of them, so Chuck actually lifted his head when he heard the word pass his father's lips. "I just want to make sure you're alright," finished Herc. Chuck stared at Herc a few more seconds before nodding his consent.

It took them some time to make it all the way to the infirmary, and even longer try to explain why they wanted a check up without getting into serious trouble. Finally the nurse was fed up with dealing with them, and she agreed to do the check up, off record, no questions asked.

* * *

And so the day found Chuck and Herc lounging around their quarters. Chuck had been ordered at least a week of bed rest, and liquids, liquids, LIQUIDS! When Herc thought Chuck couldn't see him,, his eyes and face gave off longing and guilt. Chuck savored these stolen moments because they actually made him feel wanted; it was like Herc really did care enough to feel the pain he brought onto Chuck.

"The nurse said you were behind with your home and physical therapy," Herc attempted to begin conversation, only realizing too late that the theme was probably inappropriate, and that it was entirely his fault that Chuck didn't do his therapy.

It was Chuck's turn to feel guilty. He knew that he might have been able to get to the infirmary when he realized Herc would not be coming back, but a large part of him found peace, sitting on the floor, in his own filth, knowing that he was worthless enough for his dad to leave him alone to die. All Chuck had to do was sit on the floor, not that he could really do it any other way. It wasn't the fastest way to die, but it gave him time to realizes it was what he deserved.

Herc realized that Chuck wasn't really paying attention to him, so he got his attention by tapping his shoulder.

"Hey," he said quietly, smiling, "Where did you go?"

Chuck hesitated to tell his dad, knowing it would only make Herc worry more. But Herc kept pestering and pressing him to speak his mind.

Chuck got frustrated with this continued bothering, and also how attentive and overbearing Herc had been since he came back, so he finally exploded. "You know what I'm thinking? You really want to know? Fine. I'll tell you. I'm thinking about how you left. How you left and didn't come back. How I was glad that you finally stopped deciding to pretend to care. I thought you would be gone for good, and I could finally get out of your hair, and stop being a bother. That's what I'm thinking . . . okay." Chuck mumbled that last part.

Herc was shocked that Chuck began yelling, mostly because he had been so quiet and submissive since he came back. But his words troubled Herc.

"Chuck," Herc began, "I know I fucked up. . . . I know that I shouldn't have left, but I never want you to think I was pretending about caring about you. I always did. I was frustrated at myself when I left. I was taking it out on you, and I shouldn't have. . . . But don't ever think that you are a bother. I love you, and I missed you while I was gone." Chuck looked up at Herc at that last part. "I know that this doesn't make me going away okay, but I'm going to try and make up for it."

They sat together for a while, thinking about everything that they had said.

"I'm going to the home therapy tomorrow morning," Chuck spoke into the quiet room, abruptly disturbing the stillness. "I know I wasn't very willing to do much, so I'm going to try and get better. Do my physical therapy exercises."

* * *

They weren't perfect, but they were trying, and that's what mattered. At the end of the day, whether it was a good or bad day, they got into bed together, happy that they could still do this, even after everything.


End file.
